How to take the HANDBRAKE off your life and move your career FORWARD

Do you love your job? If not, read this carefully…

When your deepest needs are not being met, you are likely to experience boredom or burnout at either ends of the spectrum.

The mindset of ownership means that you decide if your needs are or aren’t being met. You are the one who is going to do what it takes to ensure that they are met within your current company or beyond. 

The benefits of taking ownership are:

1. You have clarity about what you are and aren’t in control of, and are at peace with it

2. You aren’t waiting for someone else to change things, which can be disempowering

3. You will do your best to make choices and change things you are in control of, which is empowering.

The power equation: ownership > effect

When you are on the left side of this equation (ownership), you are in control of your thoughts, feelings and actions. You have the power to change your situation. 

When you are on the right side of the equation (effect), you are not in control and allow others to have an inappropriate influence over your thoughts, feelings, actions and quality of life.

So, think about this...

Which side of the equation are you on? Who is driving the bus of your life? Is it you or others?

Are you owning your life, or are you living influenced by the effects of others’ decisions? When people are influenced by the effect of other people’s actions or forces outside their control, they make statements like:

• They promised me a raise a year ago, and I’m still waiting
• There’s this person on my team who’s constantly taking credit for my work
• The company is struggling financially, and I’m hoping someone is going to do something about it
• They make me work long hours, and nobody cares about the effect it has on me
• My work is boring and has no purpose, but there aren’t any jobs out there, so I might as well just soldier on

When you are at the ‘effect’ of your manager and colleagues, it will result in a growing sense of anger, sadness, guilt, shame, helplessness, frustration and regret. If this is ongoing, it will impact every other area of your life. 

It’s essential to move from the effect to the ownership side of the equation, and to do so, you need to start by becoming aware of your self-limiting beliefs and decisions.

The ownership checklist

Read each statement below and decide on the answer that describes what you believe. You can find the template for this checklist at www.switch.work/bonus

• I am in charge of my choices, my successes and failures. Yes/no

• I am clear about what I want in my job and my career. Yes/no
• I can choose the people I work with and how they impact the quality of my work. Yes/no
• I choose the manager I work with as much as they choose me. Yes/no
• I embrace failure as feedback and work on succeeding. Yes/no
• I initiate actions to change my circumstances if they don’t meet my needs. Yes/no
• I can find the right job that meets my needs when I look for it. Yes/no
• I am the best version of myself at work. Yes/no
• I am creating my future with every decision I make and action I take. Yes/no

Each question that you answered yes to is a self-empowering belief. These accelerate your progress towards your goals.

Each question that you answered no to or were undecided on is a self-limiting belief. These prevent you from reaching your goals.

Self-awareness about empowering and limiting beliefs is powerful. Once you become aware of what is holding you back, you can take action to deal with this hand-brake and move forward without anything stopping you. 

You can change your self-limiting beliefs to self-empowering ones; this can be difficult, but it is possible and you will enjoy the benefits for the rest of your life.

In the context of your work and career, empowering beliefs will help you stake control and get the job that is right for you.